The Sunday Times in 1994 had launched a competition to see who could write the best story with the most French words.This is a delightful anecdote! This text is a classic example of British linguistic humor. It ironically highlights that while France sought to "purify" French of Anglicisms (via the Toubon Law in 1994), English, for its part, would find itself quite unprepared if it were to give back to Molière what belongs to him. Here is a short text taken from this competition "He had a rendez-vous with a blonde divorcee in a cul-de-sac. He sat on a banquette in a cafe sipping an aperitif. She arrived looking chic in a beige ensemble. There was a soupcon of romance in the air, but she had a blasé attitude, a certain je ne sais quoi that suggested a faux pas was imminent." (Miles Kington ) It's quite fascinating to see that if you removed all French from English, only words for very basic things (eat, sleep, land) would remain, while the entire culture and administration would disappear! Why is it brilliant? The strength of this text lies in three points that the Sunday Times wanted to highlight: 1. Omnipresence: It is estimated that nearly 30% to 45% of English words are of French or Latin origin via French. 2. Prestige: Without these words, English loses its entire vocabulary related to cuisine, fashion, diplomacy, and refined social interactions. 3. The absurdity of protectionism: The newspaper wanted to show that languages ​​enrich each other and that trying to "clean them up" is a losing battle (and somewhat ridiculous). "So, as you can see, @Shane Peterson @Mila Zinoveva @Gulistan Asan @Andrzej Zieliński @Serge Gray even when I speak English... I’m still technically speaking French. À bientôt !"🍷✨

The Joke: Why did the teddy bear turn down a slice of cake. He was stuffed. The Double Meaning of stuff ​ ​Literal Meaning (The Bear): Teddy bears are physical toys filled with cotton, polyester, or foam. By definition, their bodies are "stuffed" with material. ​Figurative Meaning (The Cake): In human terms, when someone says "I'm stuffed," it means they have eaten so much food that their stomach is full and they cannot eat another bite. The bear isn't full of food; he's just full of stuffing!